11 September 2016

College Tips

So this year, as you may know from my last post, I am participating in a wonderful experience called PSEO, which is literally college in High School. Fun, right? Sure. It's great, but kinda scary, and with this comes the whole, "getting back into school routine" (which initself is scary enough). So without further ado, I thought I'd let you know some things that I always try to do to get back into my school rythm, and how I've changed that rythm to adapt to my college experience.

1. Stay Healthy
I know that its not always fun to have to figure out good food to make and eat, but it is necessary. I try to pack myself lunches the night before, things like salads in a jar, smoothies, or leftover foods that I can heat up in the microwave.
Have water by your side. Like. All. The. Time. I usually carry a water bottle with me througout school, and I end up drinking one bottle during each class period. Then, when I get tired, bored, or distracted from anything else, I end up sipping from my water bottle. (I've got a Camelbak).
Sleep. I cannot stress how important sleep is. I, by nature, am a morning person, so I can't say much for all you night owls, but for me, making sure to get enough sleep (7-8 hours) is essential to survival. Also, I can tell, no matter how many coffees I drink, if I haven't had enough sleep.

2. Decorate!
Keep your books looking fun so you'll actually want to use them. I use mead Cambridge notebooks: with college ruled paper, a hand file pouch, and a glance year-to-year calendar, the only downside is the boring front. I have changed this, however, by cutting out different pieces of paper (triangles, or hexagons or something), and covering the plastic covers with wallpaper cut-outs or snippets of pictures I have taken. One they are glued, I cover them with laminate, and I'm good to go!

3. Use a Planner
I never really used a planner until I started High School. Now that I'm taking College classes, it is my life saver. Different colors are used for different classes, so that way, without reading each note, I can know when a certain class has something due. This also is where you can find out when you have those three large papers or presentations dues on the same day, so that you don't end up working on all of them the night before. (Also, please don't work on things the night before. Just don't).

4. Find Your Study Type
Study type? What I mean by this, is find out how you work best: without noise, with some noise, with a lot of noise, with others, etc. I love to work when there are others in the room--I think it keeps me from getting distracted and checking facebook and other social media.

5. Start Everything Now. Like Right Away!
I know. It can be hard, and a lot of people are procrastinators (or think you're a stupid nerd for starting things right away), but you will thank yourself. Also your professor will, because they can see the difference. Oh, and never forget, your grade will thank you, and those spontaneous road trips that you can take if you get things done right away will thank you too. So basically everyone except for procrastinators will thank you. Isn't that great?

6. The Extra Tip for College students!Use your college/university library database. This is no joke. I know you can look things up online and sometimes find good sources that are reliable, but it takes a lot of sifting. With College Databases, you get all the good journals, and articles, and encylopedias and much more without having to look through hundreds of sketchy blogs to get there!